Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Valeant top pick in specialty pharmaceutical space, says CantorCantor identifies Valeant as its top pick in the specialty pharmaceutical space, as it believes that the company is relatively shielded from sector-specific risks. The firm also expects the company to benefit from improving consumer spending trends.

On The Fly: Closing WrapStocks on Wall Street began the session in negative territory and remained there for most of the session, with the Nasdaq the lone index to post a small gain. The Dow was weighed down by shares of Boeing (BA), which slid after the stock received a downgrade. There was little in the way of positive economic news, as the most notable report showed existing homes were lower than expected due to a shortage of inventory. The averages drifted for most of the session, as investors may be waiting on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s banking panel testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago Fed national activity index rebounded to 0.13 in January, which was nearly in-line with expectations. Existing home sales dropped 4.9% to a 4.82M rate in January, which was much worse than the expected 1.8% drop to a 4.95M unit rate. In Europe, the Ifo Institute’s measure of German business confidence rose to 106.8 in February, which was up a tenth of a percentage point from the previous month but below the 107.7 consensus forecast. Also, the Bank of Israel became the latest central bank to cut rates this year, lowering its main interest rate to 0.1% from 0.25%. COMPANY NEWS: The shares of a number of health insurers rose after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, issued preliminary 2016 Medicare Advantage rates. According to Credit Suisse, the rates were favorable for the insurers. Following the CMS announcement made late Friday, Humana (HUM) climbed $8.40, or 5.38%, to $164.52, UnitedHealth (UNH) rose $3.78, or 3.36%, to $116.40, and WellCare (WCG) gained $4.68, or 5.53%, to $89.30. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), which jumped $9.77, or 17.7%, to $64.96 after Reuters said the company is working with financial advisers to explore a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from several companies including Shire (SHPG) and BioMarin (BMRN). Also higher was Valeant (VRX), which rose $25.49, or 14.71%, to $198.75 after the company agreed to buy Salix (SLXP) for $158 per share and also reported better-than-forecast earnings. Salix shares, however, fell $2.09, or 1.32%, to $155.76, as a report Friday from CNBC's David Faber telegraphed the deal and suggested Valeant could value Salix around $160 per share. Among the noteworthy losers was Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI), which dropped $1.18, or 15.82%, to $6.28 after a judge ruled that a drug which could compete with the company's Fusilev treatment does not infringe on the company's intellectual property. Also lower were shares of Boeing, which fell $3.57, or 2.26%, to $154.74 after the stock was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. INDEXES: The Dow fell 23.60, or 0.13%, to 18,116.84, the Nasdaq gained 5.01, or 0.1%, to 4,960.97, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.64, or 0.03%, to 2,109.66.

Jefferies says other bidders may emerge for SalixJefferies says it could envision other bidders emerging for Salix (SLXP) and points out recent media reports have suggested Shire (SHPG) and Endo (ENDP) have considered making a bid for the company. It lists AstraZeneca (AZN) and Takeda as others who could have possible interest in Salix. The firm believes Valeant (VRX) could afford to pay more for Salix should other bidders emerge.

Salix downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper JaffrayPiper Jaffray downgraded Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) to Neutral saying that while it could "easily see" another bidder emerge, it does not expect any potential competing bids to be significantly higher than the Valeant (VRX) offer. Piper lowered its price target for Salix shares to $158 from $160.

Valeant confirms acquiring Salix for $158 per share Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) and Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Valeant will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Salix for $158 per share in cash, or a total enterprise value of approximately $14.5B. The transaction was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Salix Pharmaceuticals is a widely recognized gastrointestinal market leader with a portfolio of 22 total products, including well-known prescription brands Xifaxan, Uceris, Relistor, and Apriso, as well as a strong near- term pipeline of innovative, new assets. "Salix's market-leading gastrointestinal franchise is an ideal strategic fit for Valeant's diversified portfolio of specialty products," said J. Michael Pearson, Valeant's chairman and CEO. "The growing GI market has attractive fundamentals, and Salix has a portfolio of terrific products that are outpacing the market in terms of volume growth and a promising near-term pipeline of innovative products. With strong brand recognition among specialist GI prescribers, a highly rated specialty sales force, and a significant product and commercial presence across the undertreated and underserved gastrointestinal market, this acquisition offers a compelling opportunity for Valeant to create a strong platform for growth and business development." The combination is expected to yield greater than $500M in annual cost savings from the cost base of the combined company. Synergies are expected to be achieved within six months of close, primarily from reductions in corporate overhead and R&D rationalization, with the cost to achieve these synergies to be approximately 65%. Valeant and Salix will determine how best to integrate the two companies to leverage the combined strengths of both while ensuring a smooth and orderly transition. Consistent with Valeant's approach to integrating Bausch + Lomb, there are no planned reductions to Salix's highly rated specialty sales forces or hospital, key account and field reimbursement teams and we will determine the optimal size of Primary Care Sales Force through the integration process.The acquisition is structured as an all-cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Salix common stock at a price of $158 per share followed by a merger in which each remaining untendered share of Salix common stock would be converted into the right to receive the same $158 cash per share consideration as in the tender offer. The all-cash offer will be financed through a combination of bank debt and bonds. As a result of the need to draw down inventories, EBITDA will be artificially low in 2014 and 2015, resulting in the initial net leverage ratio of approximately 5.6. Valeant is committed to reducing its net leverage ratio to be below 4.0 by the second half of 2016. As a result of the plan to reduce wholesaler inventory levels in 2015, the transaction is expected to be modestly accretive to 2015 cash EPS, but over 20% accretive to 2016 cash EPS. Valeant does not expect any change to its credit ratings as a result of the transaction. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.